Last week Apple shipped the first iOS 26.2 and watchOS 26.2 betas with a big change to Sleep Score’s grading system. After nearly a week with the new Sleep Score, here’s how I’m feeling about the updates.
Sleep Score refinements in iOS 26.2 and watchOS 26.2
Sleep Score is one of two major Health features that debuted in iOS and watchOS 26.
With user feedback, however, Apple discovered that the new feature needed some refinement.
In iOS 26.2 and watchOS 26.2, Apple has made changes—not to how Sleep Score actually works, but rather to its grading system.
Apple determined that the previous top grade of ‘Excellent’ sounded too much like a quality judgment. It has opted to replace the term with ‘Very High,’ a more objective statement on users’ sleep data.
Additionally, the grading system overall has been updated to make higher grades a bit harder to get.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison:
iOS 26.2iOS 26Very High/Excellent96-10090-100High81-9570-89OK61-8050-69Low41-6030-49Very Low0-400-29
Sleep Score is still based on the same three metrics: Duration, Bedtime, and Interruptions. And Apple isn’t changing anything about how those are calculated. It has simply revised the grades for each score.
New Sleep Score has been more reflective of how I feel
After checking my Sleep Score more closely over the past week, I think these refinements are a clear upgrade over the old grades.
As much as I might wish I was still scoring ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very High’ more easily, the truth is that iOS 26.2’s grades have felt more reflective of how I’ve perceived my own sleep quality.
For example, I tend to score consistently well on the Duration and Bedtime metrics. But my Interruptions score can vary wildly depending on how well my toddler sleeps.
In iOS 26, there were several times I felt like my sleep was terrible due to long and frequent wakeful periods. Yet the Health app gave me ‘High’ grades because I faired okay on Duration and Bedtime.
On one such occasion, I got a 0/20 on Interruptions, with 15 wake-ups totaling nearly 2 hours. But by Apple’s old standards, I scored a ‘High’ that night. With iOS 26.2, it was simply ‘OK.’
None of iOS 26.2’s Sleep Score revisions are especially radical, but I suspect users will find them a better match to how they’re feeling when the update ships next month.
How have Sleep Score’s iOS 26.2 changes been working out for you? Let us know in the comments.
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